Killing Me Softly
by Anastasia The Goddess of Drama
Summary: SYOC Opened. The King has it's dangers and enemies and must be protected 24/7. This is where the Assassin Selection comes in, 15 of the best and deadliest assassins from all over Illea come to compete and be the King's constant protector and shadow person. With all hands and bets off, and getting to play as dirty as they want. Who will win? Selection form on profile. 11/15
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Blood pumps through the veins, into the heart, keeping the body alive. An interruption of the flow can kill either entirely or part of a body. Blood was precious, sacred, and spilled all over the white floors and his brown boots.

Ashamed really, he just bought these shoes.

The slit across the other man's throat would've been clean, almost doctoral, if the man hadn't grabbed his throat, hadn't tried to move to escape.

Unfortunate _really_, he liked the boots.

He sighed as if he hadn't killed a man and, instead, acted as if he was told that it would be raining later today. The man tossed his knife aside, uncrossed his legs and stood.

This is where the winning came in, or he would hope. He was built for the competitive life, already made from the best, he couldn't stand to be bothered with such foolish things.

He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie after flipping the hood over his head and started towards the door.

The crown was his to take now, why indulge in being the King's shadow man when he could eliminate the monarchy immediately? The was no need to play the same petty games for the rest of his life when he could become the _new _king. A wary but smug smile appeared on his face.

Now _that _was a future worth looking to.

A future that never happened.

A single bullet pierced through the right side of Patrick Collins, exiting out of his left brain. Such a clean hit that the bullet didn't stay lodge in. Laying mere inches out of the dying man. Strangely and surprisingly, the bullet did not kill him instantly as doctors claimed that should have.

In fact, it was the second bullet to finish him off.

This one point-blank, in the center of his eyes.

They never found the culprit.

Never knew the cruel, sadistic, barbaric game that have been going on for years.

Would never guess that a fifteen-year-old had shot both bullets into the brain of Patrick Collins.

Would never have suspected crying and inconsolable Hannah Collins, sister to Patrick Collins had been the one to do it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Precision was always key.

Perfection was a lie.

Always protect your six was a sacred rule.

These were the three things that Hannah Collins lived by and have lived by for the last thirty years. Ever since she was thrust into the Assassin Selection at fifteen years old, and shot her brother twice to win.

The victory didn't feel so. . .victorious, especially when her parents cried over the fact that _she _was alive and her brother wasn't. He had been perfect at everything that he did and she had always been sloppy. She was supposed to die in the hands of another, or even better, the hands of her brother.

But it was him, who stared up at her as she played Judge, Jury, and Executer.

What was supposed to make her parents see her in a different light, and for once feel proud of her, instead made her parents be even more disappointed. Why couldn't she just accept her fate and die rather than fight? She was the one they should be burying and not him.

So, no, the win left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Her parents' hate for her is the only reason why Hannah went on to accept the position of Shadow. Why every year, she has won Assassin Selection. And why, she laid in bed with the Queen and King every night.

Pure adulterate spite.

It's all she ran on now, with every kill and kiss and look. Just to scream a loud "fuck you" to her parents who wanted her sociopath brother to live while she died.

Though despite all of this, Hannah wasn't upset by this. She knew what Patrick's downfall was and she would never, _ever _make the same mistake twice.

She will never be the cocky and smug bastard that he was. Every opponent was equally her level or even more. She has, not once underestimate anybody after that fateful day.

The only thing that she regrets, that leaves her fuming in the night, was that she never got to gloat. Never got to brag about who was laying on the dirty gravel ground bleeding out as the other stood over them, triumphantly. No, she took away her own personal victory and it left her awake at night.

Only villains gave long speeches, giving the protagonist enough time to save themselves.

And she wasn't a villain.

She had just been a kid, trying to survive.

And now, thirty years later, battered, bruised and bloodied, Hannah Collins was still King Hudson's Shadow.

She has slain more enemies than any previous assassin, pushing herself to more limits, proving herself capable to do anything within reason.

Hannah was good at what she does, there was no doubt about it, and she always looked through Illea to see who would be going against her in the next Selection. Training to stay on top and surviving the next year.

Until that next Selection, Hannah was only known to the people of the palace. Anybody, outside of it knew nothing about Hannah Collins. Having vanished thirty years ago. She was a shadow of a shadow, fitting her codename even more.

The workers there all knew that could not talk about her, outside the castle or whatever there were guests. The King's Assassin didn't exist and so, if people did happen upon her, she was a lover, a consort. And while that disrespected the work that she did, she did not feel disrespected.

It was true, and truths weren't something that Hannah hid shamingly. She has accepted every truth that she has ever done and not once has she lied to make herself look better.

There was no need to gain respect for people that didn't want to give it.

If only they knew what she did, would they quake in fear, and thought she would enjoy it with a smug smile, she kept the urge in thoroughly well.

She was indeed the lover of King Hudson and his wife, Queen Bella, and it made her protecting them both, even more serious.

They had a long and deep history together that meant so much more than sex.

Once Hannah had won the Assassin Selection and it became very clear that she was no longer wanted in the Collins' household, she was shipped off to Angeles. Then King Richard had sworn Hannah to be Prince Hudson's Shadow, as the current Head Shadow, Oliver Cross, was to the king. Soon after, Oliver taught Hannah everything that he knew and expressed repeatedly that the King was and will always be her main and most important assignment, and that she must guard his life as precious as she would her own.

And she took each lesson to heart, as she shadowed after Hudson, making sure no hair on his head was harmed.

At first, the presence of her had unnerved him. She was silent, never spoke, never expressed emotions. At times, she came and went at different times and he asked because he had a feeling where she went.

It wasn't until Hudson had gone to the library to read, a rarity. And he found, Hannah in the back corner of the large library, crying. It was the first time he had ever seen her express emotion and being human. It's the first time that they talked and it became something much more.

It wasn't quick, rather a slow thing that Hannah hadn't even notice sneak up on her til Hudson's _romantic _Selection came about. She felt a sense of jealousy as the Selection went on, and the Selected Girls grew shorter.

Every night, Hudson and Hannah went over the list of girls. Discussing the potential of them and if they had secrets that they may have overlooked. Hudson had noticed how agitated Hannah got the longer they look and found nothing once the Elite was made.

Soon, Hudson began to question why she was so upset with not finding anything. It should be great news that none of the Elite was dangerous. But she couldn't formulate her feelings for him because it wasn't done. The assassin eliminated enemies, not fall in love and yet. . .when Hudson had asked after several nights, she had kissed him.

She was surprised that he had kissed her back but nevertheless delighted. And once everything was said and done, they admitted their feelings for each other. Of course, their relationship couldn't be public because of who she was and so they began to plot on what to do. It was Hannah's idea to find the Selected that would be okay with the fact that Hudson had assassin.

So in the last two months of the Selection, Hannah showed her face to the five Elite and in the end, it was Bella Thompson that won.

Because in the end, Hannah had fallen for Bella just as hard as Hudson did.

The first three years were weird, to say the least.

Trying to maintain a relationship between three people, especially when one was an assassin that came and went in odd hours while the other was the King struck with politics and papers, with a Queen learning to be a Queen, was hard.

Still, they made it work the best way they could and regardless of seeing little each other, there was no love lost.

Since Bella was new to all things royalty, she has always fretted over Hannah before and after every mission. Hannah found the concern endearing but this was her job since birth despite the lack of fate, and it would continue being her job till her death.

This never pleased Bella.

"Until your death? There are other things out there to do, Han!"

"It's all I know."

"It's not too late for a change in direction."

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

It was the only heated argument that Bella and Hannah have, the only one that Hudson always failed to break up. And while Hannah and Hudson were one way, Bella was the other and was always sought for ways for Hannah to retire from being an assassin.

So, when Ryan Zachery Schreave was born, Bella was sure that Hannah would retire for the sake of the child.

Bella was wrong, and Hannah continued to be Shadow.

"What about our son?" Bella hissed. "Can't very well spend time with his mother, who is a fucking assassin."

"You knew what my job is, what it will continue to be as long as Hudson lives," Hannah said, just as angry. "I make sure that all of you are safe and you cannot be upset with this."

"I can, when the person I love has a strong possibility of not returning home."

It was the tears in Bella's eyes that moved Hannah but still, it wasn't enough for Hannah to retire.

When Ryan became 15 years old; Hudson, Bella, and Hannah started to discuss who would be the assassin to protect their son.

"It can't be you," Bella said to Hannah.

Hannah opened her mouth to protest but Bella held up a hand.

"If you're Shadow for Hudson, you cannot be Shadow for Ryan. You'll be stretching yourself thin. We need somebody else equally as talented to be his protector." Bella said firmly. "You can referee the Assassin Selection make the cuts and decisions however you would like."

"And what if these 15 assassins aren't good enough to protect him?"

Bella narrowed her eyes at her. "You will judge fairly. You will not rig this Selection so that you can be the sole protector of this family."

Hannah snorted and looked at Hudson, who raised his hands defensively. "I hate to say it Han but Bella is right, you already have enough on your plate with my enemies, you can't carry on Ryan's too."

Hannah stared at her spouse in disbelief, especially when neither budge and she sighed loudly.

"Fine! I will judge justly, I will make sure to give each potential Assassin a chance, are you happy Bells?"

Bella smirked, leaning forward and kissing Hannah, who grudgingly accepted it.

"Yes, thank you."

"Hmph."

"So is it final?" Hudson asked. "These are our rules of how this Selection will be run?"

Hannah glanced at Bella with a raised eyebrow, and the other woman nodded. "Yes, it is. Do whatever it is you do to prepare for this Selection. I pray whoever wins knows what they are losing in gain of winning."

Hannah looked away from the two. "Trust me, they never do."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

She laid on top of the building with her gun perched on top of the ledge. She angled it down with careful precision as she sought out her target. She was a pretty enough blond with a fur coat that stopped just above her knees. Her boots covered the rest of her skin, and her head was covered with a black hat.

She didn't look out of the ordinary because on this side of town it was normal but Kali knew all about her background. The woman in furs was all about using deception. A smile, a wink, a curl of the fingers, and a tongue down the throat with a knife in the back.

Vanessa Posh had a type and a list of men that she went on to kill, and the next victim was a woman's son. He had got the signature letter of _You're next _and nearly everyday pictures and objects of that he been around and touched. Finally, he had informed his mother what was happening and she had contacted Kali.

Just in time too because Vanessa was about to strike on her 9th victim.

Vanessa stood with a purpose, her head held high as she looked up and down the streets, searching for Ben Houston.

She would not find him because of a last-minute change of plans. Ben would be at home while Kali took his place.

Kali placed her finger on the trigger and was just about to pull it when something unnerved her.

Victoria looked up and directly at Kali.

It was enough for Kali to jerk back before she looked back into the scope. The woman shook her head, grabbed a nearby civilian and they walked off together.

Kali sat back numbly, trying to process what happened when her phone began to ring. Still, in disbelief, Kali answered the phone and placed it towards her ear.

"Hello?"

"_Kali Shreya Reitveld, where the hell are you_?"

The angry shrill of Jargala Reitveld's voice caused Kali to flinch.

"Mama, I had an assignment. . ."

"_Do you not know what time it is?"_

Kali resisted the urge to sigh as she moved the phone from her face as she checked the time.

She cursed.

"_Watch your language! I want your ass in this house fifteen minutes tops! Or you will sit out from the next _four _assignments _and _meetings!"_

"Four?!" Kali exclaimed, jumping up and packing her stuff up as she raced off the roof. "Mama isn't that bit extreme?"

"_You know how important dinners are! Now get your ass here!" _

Kali's protests died on her lips as the line went dead, and she was left on the rooftop in disbelief and shaken. She pocketed the phone and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, running the quickest route home.

* * *

The sight of Jargala Reitveld waiting outside the door, arms folded and face set caused Kali's heart to drop. She slowed her pace as she discreetly checked the time, and inwardly cursing when she realized how that she was 20 minutes off the marker.

"What did you had 15 minutes to get here, did you not understand?" Her mother asked. "Get in the house! Nobody has eaten waiting for you!"

Kali had the decency to look guilty as she walked by her mother with her shoulders slum. She walked into the dining, the smell of _Alu Gobi _and _Colcannon _filled Kali's senses and made her stomach growl. She sighed wistfully as she turned the corner and was meant with dying conversation as everyone turned and face her.

Kali resisted a groan as Chandra's smile had grown wicked.

"Golden girl Kali, isn't so golden." Chandra teased. "You know what you got to do!"

It was always funny to see Chandra, Hasan, or Malachi do it but now that it was her on the other end. She frowned as she took off her shoes and placed them just outside the dining room before she made her way to the kitchen.

Her father and her aunt waited for her, already laughing about what she had to do.

"I wouldn't have been able to make it," Kali protest. "What happened to exempting those unable to come?"

"You've been watching that woman for two weeks now," Aunt Ava said. "Surely, if you were going to kill her. It would've been done before 7:00."

"Vanessa is a special case," Kali muttered, frustrated. "It's like she senses me which should be impossible! I'm one of the greatest at stealth there is. I need to figure out how she knows."

Jordan snapped his fingers, dragging Kali out of her thoughts.

"You'll figure it out but til then, you know the drill Kal."

Kali groaned as she looked at her options and chose the less embarrassing one before heading back to the dining room. She avoided looking at the laughing faces of her siblings and cousin as the music started to play.

"Oh, Dad, you should've gotten her to do the Chicken Dance," Chandra said. "Now that would be priceless."

"But the Macarena will do nicely," Hasan snickered, pulling out his phone.

Jargala was quick to smack Hasan's hand and shoot him a glare.

"No phones at the table! You want to join her?"

Hasan sulked as he put away the phone.

"Mom, please," Kali said. "I've learned my lesson, this will be my first and last time being late."

Jargala simply raised her eyebrows and Kali almost threw up her hands.

"And I'll clean up after dinner, dishes and all."

"Come sit, _bachi._" Jargala said, allowing the girl to sit.

Kali's face was flushed with embarrassment but she was relieved that she got it over it. She sat next to a laughing Malachi and Bishan.

"Your dancing was amazing, Kal," Bishan said with a grin. "Flawless."

"Micheal Jackson would be proud," Malachi added.

"Oh shut up." Kali murmured.

She grabbed a plate and started placing food on it. Starting off dinner since she was the last one there, she handed the bowls of food to her left. Everybody started to talk to each other about the other's days. The embarrassment of the dance slowly fell off her shoulders and she began to relax, enjoying time with her family.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hannah tried hard not to show the limp that she has, knowing that Bella would have a fit. But it hurt like hell and she knew that she would have to go to the doctor for it. Bridget Schneider aka Chaos was good but in the end, she was better. Not before Bridget got her right leg first.

It's been a while since she's been bested in hand to hand combat, so the stab to the leg was unbearable. Especially since it felt as if the blade was laced with poison, which would be very bad in her case. She was miles away from Illea, and could very well die in a foreign country.

Which wouldn't be good.

Once Hannah had broken the neck of Chaos, she checked her wound and was relieved that it wasn't poison. But the woman had gotten her thigh all the way down to her knee.

"Son of a Bitch," Hannah muttered at the sight of it.

She dressed the wound best she could, where she was great in all things killing, she lacked the ability to heal, and she hobbed out of the empty building as fast as she could.

The plane back home was uncomfortable, to say the least. The elevation from earth agitated the wound and her attempted bandage was absolutely terrible. She had spent most of her time in the bathroom redoing her bandages because of the excessive blood.

By the time Hannah reached Angeles, the bleeding had stopped but it still hurt like hell.

Even with her applying pressure against the wound, it did nothing to ease the pain or limp. And so she prayed that she could make it to the infirmary before Bella caught sight of her.

She had just made it inside of the castle, limping to the secret, and quickest, passage to the infirmary, when a shout stopped her.

"Momma!"

Hannah straightened up the best she could, grimacing as she did so before turning around to face her son. His usually curly hair was slicked back, his dark brown eyes crinkled with a smile, and his face covered with freckles. The sight of him caused her to smile too and made her temporarily forget the pain in her leg.

"Baby boy," Hannah started. "You always know when I would get home."

"Call it son's institution," Ryan grinned, making his way to her. "I haven't seen you in months."

"Harder target," Hannah shrugged.

Ryan looked her up and down and frown.

"You're hurt."

Hannah bristled and opened her mouth to retort but her son beat her to it when he pressed hard against her right leg. She hissed and flinched away from the touch, glaring at her son who stared at her triumphantly.

"You're favoring your left leg, so that means that the damage was done to your right," Ryan said, proud of his observation.

"Good job buddy but you could have done without the example," Hannah said with a tight smile. "I'm glad that you're taking your self-defense class seriously. Learned anything else, Ry?"

He cocked his head to the side with pure concentration but shook his head frustrated.

"No, was I supposed to?"

"Yes, what type of wound is it?" Hannah asked. "What type of weapon did it? Was it a weapon at all?"

Ryan frowned. "I supposed to tell all that while you're wearing pants?"

"Yes, you must observe every tiny thing and must utilize it to your benefit. You knew that my leg was hurt and where to press but do you know how deep it is? Is it enough to render me handicap?"

Ryan's eyes widen at the last comment.

"What? Momma-"

"I'm fine," Hannah said firmly. "I'm just saying, you have to look out for these things. How is your health class going? Doing good with bandages and detecting poisons?"

Ryan nodded. "Yes, I'm faring well. I'm trying more in that class than any other after you had expressed how serious that class is."

"You never know when you're going to have to heal your own wounds," Hannah said. "That was one thing that I wish I had paid more attention in that class. Be better than me, Ry."

"That's going to be hard," Ryan said, his grin returning. "You're the best that there is."

Hannah's smile faltered slightly and she swallowed hard.

"I need to get this checked out and healed," Hannah said. "Don't tell your Mom, okay?"

Ryan's grin turned into a smirk as he nodded.

"Mom would have your head," Ryan said. "How bad is it anyway?"

Hannah hesitated, weighing her options before deciding it was best not to treat Ryan as a child.

"She got me from the meat of my thigh down to the back of the knee. The bleeding stopped but I think you agitated when you pressed on it."

Ryan blanched at this. "I'm sorry Momma, I didn't know."

Hannah gave him a reassuring smile pulling him close to kiss his forehead. "It's okay love, live and learn. We'll talk later, I really need Evans to check it out."

"Okay," Ryan murmur. "Mom's really going to kill you for this."

Hannah chuckled and gave Ryan a wink. "That's only if you tell her."

Ryan shook his head and headed in the opposite direction.

"She won't hear it from me!"

Hannah shook her head as she continued her way inside the secret passage and up to the infirmary.

Evans clucked her tongue at the sight of Hannah's bandages.

"This is just fucking awful, _Shadow. _You had pitiful bandages! This is an ugly mess! And I'm _surprised _that this isn't infected for being so poorly done!"

Hannah winced as Evans ranted on about the wound and how it was dressed. She worked with aggression seeming to ignore Hannah's grunts and protests. It became very clear to Hannah that Evans was _pissed _at her.

"How are you to be anybody's fucking Shadow if you're dripping blood on the floor?" Evans demand.

Her green eyes caught Hannah's brown ones with sarcasm and anger before she looked away blushing. Hannah blinked wildly as she experienced whirlwind Evans who couldn't decide to properly clean and dress her leg or to choke her.

"If you just listen to me just this _once! _You'll be able to bandage a wound perfectly and wouldn't need dearly little me to fix every single scar and scratch that you got."

Hannah bristled. "I do not! I can take care of scars and cuts and- _fuck Evans be gentle!" _

"You're an Assassin and you're crying over me cleaning it with alcohol?" Evans said with a raised eyebrow.

Hannah felt the heat rushing to her face as Evans snickered, continuing on with what she was doing.

As Evans worked, Hannah bit the inside of her cheek, to keep from whining too much about the pain that seemed to burn up her right leg.

"How long are you staying this time?" Evans asked.

Hannah shrugged, trying hard to ignore the pain. "You know I have no control over these things but seeing how close I got to being defeated? Hudson's enemies but gain more confidence to attack more often."

"You killed Chaos, didn't you? Who would even relay back the news?"

"Assassins are excellent hackers, especially the ones that want to make a name for themselves. And what better way to do it then to take out one of the Legendaries?"

Evans looked up from her work. "I seriously doubt that you're listed as a Legendary."

Hannah shrugged, "Then don't believe me. But I will be taking more assignments after this close call. If only they didn't conflict with the upcoming Selection."

"There's still going to be an Assassin Selection?"

Hannah looked at Evans confused as to why the other woman stared at her surprised.

"Why wouldn't there be?" Hannah asked. "Ryan will soon need his own Shadow and I have to be the judge of it. The one to come up with the assignments, the limitations, the challenges and bonuses, the-"

"Okay! Okay! I get it! There's a lot of planning. So. . .are you participating in this year's Selection?"

Hannah was already shaking her head. "Hudson and Bella have forbidden me from entering."

She rolled her eyes, completely missing the relieved look on Evans' face.

"Husband and wife both said no?" Evans said. "That is a rarity, seeing as Hudson lets you and Bella resolve things on your own time."

"They're worried about me stretching myself thin, which is ridiculous! Ryan is my son, I should be his main protector."

"And you are," Evans said. "There hasn't been a hair harmed on that boy's head. He's fine and learning to be the future King Assassin."

"You can laugh but Ryan needs those lessons. He shouldn't be like his father and his grandfather before him and depend entirely on his Assassin. I want him to be able to fight back and protect himself when his Shadow fails to.'

"He's well protected, " Evans said. "The fact that he can juggle all these lessons to be an Assassin, to be king, and get to live life as he wanted to? Just goes to show how safe he is and that he's not constantly looking over his shoulder. You don't have to worry about Ryan on the front. The only thing that you should concern yourself with is Hudson's enemies and this Selection."

"It's just two things."

"Yeah, two things. You're not going to let that stress you out Legendary Shadow Hannah Collins?"

Hannah rolled her eyes, cursing under her breathe as Evan started up with the stitches.

"Hell no, I've been through worse and this is just going to be a walk in the park."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The drop off was late.

Which means the person was tipped off to the true intentions of the meet-up.

Zayk sighed loudly, and moved away from his hiding spot but still out of view. He walked slowly, surveying the room from above, hoping to find his victim. He had known that it would be harder to trick the Hernandez Cartel, they have dealt with setups like this before and would know how to handle it.

Still, he wanted to be the one to poke holes in it, waiting and watching for them to slip up.

And they would.

They always did.

Zayk touched his wrist activating the new gadget that Cyrus gave him, showing him the outline of the building he was in. He touched the section of the building just before him, to see if anybody was inside. And when he found nobody, he jumped through sections until landing just outside. There were two black cars sitting outside, and a group of men talking to one another as if planning how they should come about the whole thing.

Zayk smirked. Perfect.

He hurried along the beams, his hand already on his next gadget.

"_Copy, what are you doing? This wasn't the plan." _

The voice in Zayk's ear was a familiar one. His best friend and only companion watching through hidden cameras. Cyrus has been with him since they put down the corrupted minister. Cryus was always about sticking to the plan that they've spent months going over. The quirkiness of his friend fell flat when it came to plans and safety.

Even after all these months, Cyrus still worried for him, even with knowing what he was.

Zyak tapped his comm.

"Don't worry Cy, I got this."

The other boy huffed but other than that, his line went silent, leaving Zayk alone. He crawled through the vents, checking the status of the men outside of the building. They were still outside, chatting and looking everywhere, observing the building and Zayk knew that his window was growing small. He quickened his pace, tapping on the gadget that he had pulled out of his pack. With perfect coordination of his eyes and feet, he managed to walk to his exit point. As he did this, he moved the small device that was stationed outside to the black cars. Once he situated the device under the car, he pressed a button that lifted the device and latched itself onto one of the vehicles.

While Zyak did this to the other car, the men with their weapons drawn walked into the building. They would find nothing though. Zyak was too well hidden for them to find him. When they walked back their cars, clearly upset and angry for being tricked.

Here is where, Zyak's smile grew sinister as the cars drove off, far away from the building. And just before fading into the horizon, Zyak pressed a button that exploded each vehicle in a fiery mushroom, leaving no survivors.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The rest of the day, Hannah stayed in the infirmary. Evans teased her and said that she was scared of Bella, which was a lie but she didn't have it in her to argue. So she laid in bed and informed Evans of her last mission.

Evans wrote down important points for Grace to go through. The novice assassin loved each report that Hannah handed to him. It was a compromise for learning how to handle opposing assassins. While Grace thought he was ready to fight against even the most legendary assassin, Hannah knew that he was just a hotheaded young adult with a lot to learn. She couldn't risk his life as eagerly as he wanted to.

For now, Hannah sent him to easier targets. Practice marks to better him and help him grow as the assassin he was meant to be. Though with such a pretty face and startling eyes, not a lot of people would agree with that but with such a pretty face provided to be his greatest advantage.

Then after each assignment. They spar with the other to better their form. But not tonight. Hannah winced as she shifted. She had to heal well enough to fool Bella, and that was a hard feat in itself.

Especially since Hannah was positive that Ryan didn't keep quiet about her return home.

"You'll have to leave eventually," Evans said.

She had her back turned to Hannah, as she typed something on her computer.

"I doubt that Gee'll have another assignment for you when she sees your fucking leg."

Hannah rolled her eyes as she sat up.

"It's not even that bad-"

"Joking aside? The amount of blood that you lost from Russia to here is a fucking a lot. You could've died Han," Evans said, her voice firm. "Take a week or two off. Spend time with your family for a bit. We'll be fine till then just let it heal for that long and I'll let you know if I greenlight you to risk your life again."

The argument died on her lips when she realized how serious Evans was. Rarely did the woman ever dictate what Hannah did, accepting that Shadow has been doing this for so long. But there were times like this that she made sure that Hannah could hear her.

"Okay," Hannah said, her voice soft. "Okay."

* * *

Eventually, when it didn't feel like her leg had a knife lodged in her leg, Hannah headed to her bedroom. It was getting late anyway and Hannah just wanted to sleep and think about what she was going to do during her forced vacation.

She dressed in pajama pants and a tank top.

"I hope you didn't think that you could go to sleep before I could see you."

At the sound of Bella's voice, Hannah turned around and smiled.

"Of course not," Hannah said. "I was just going to wait up for you two."

Bella looked up at her with a raised eyebrow and hummed disbelievingly. Hannah walked to her and pulled her into an embrace. She tilted her head down to capture Bella's lips with her own.

"I miss you." She murmured.

"Hmm. . .you're hurt," Bella said with narrowed eyes.

"What? No, I'm-"

Before Hannah could finish her lie, Bella pushed her towards the bed, and Hannah was too slow to catch herself as she landed on the mattress. The impact shot up her leg and she cursed as her hand immediately touched her cafe.

She looked up at her wife and glared, as the other woman stared down at her unapologetically.

"Think twice before lying."

She then crawled onto the bed and turned her body so that she could lift up Hannah's pants leg.

"Bel-"

"What the hell, Han."

Her dark brown eyes were hard with unshed tears and Hannah could feel herself reeling as she tried to look as if the dressing on her wound was exaggerated.

"I'm fine."

"Fine? Evans has your whole leg wrapped. You're not fucking fine." Bella said. "This is why you shouldn't even do this anymore-"

Hannah sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Don't start. We've been over this and my answer is not going to change."

"You're so fucking stubborn."

"I can say the same about you."

"Yeah, well I'm not playing Russian Roulette with my life!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Hold the arguing for the night yeah?"

Both Hannah and Bella's head turned towards the door, where their husband stood by the door. His eyes were wide from seeing Hannah but his lips had a hesitated smile as he tried to divert the arguing. Bella huffed and rose from the bed, heading towards the door.

"I don't have time for this," Bella said. "I have to be up first thing in the morning for the Women's Day event. If Hannah wants to act like fucking God, she can do that out of my sight. I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Don't," Hannah said. "I will."

Bella snorted. "With that bad leg of yours? No, I have it."

"I'll take it," Hudson said, walking backward. "You two can't go to bed mad at each other, life's too short for that."

This stopped Bella in her tracks and caused Hannah to look away.

"Damn you," Bella whispered before turning back to Hannah.

She walked back to the bed and cradled Hannah's face.

"I'm sorry for pushing you," Bella murmured. "You never tell us how bad your wounds are, and. . .it doesn't matter, I shouldn't have done it."

Hannah remained silent. Her chest felt tight as she could feel the weight of her spouses' eyes on her, and she swallowed hard, taking back her pride and mumbled.

"S'okay, Bear," Hannah mumbled. "It does hurt, I just don't like you two worrying."

"As long as you're Shadow, I'll always worry," Bella said, as she nuzzled her nose on Hannah's cheek. "You don't have to be strong all the time."

"That's why you have us," Hudson said, joining the duo.

Hannah looked at both of them and sighed. There was still a tight feeling in her chest, that she couldn't give to either of them willing. She was trained for this, to fight and protect as redundant and tiring as that might sound. That's all she knew how to do, it was nobody but her own problem to worry about. Without the weight of worrying about not only her assignment but herself, she would be nothing.

They've most of felt the uneasiness that Hannah had, seeing as neither pushed the subject and pulled her into an embrace. Hudson kissed the space that connected Hannah's neck and shoulder while Bella peppered her face with kisses.

Even after being married two the both for so long, she still got flustered with the display of affection. Still, she relaxed enough to allow them to shower their love and appreciation towards and in the back of her mind, she wondered how they would react when they found out that she would be here for two weeks. It was unheard of in recent years and while Hannah hated the limited time that she spent with her, it was for the best.

It just had to be.

* * *

**Heyyyy guyssss I'm back! Don't have much to say other than that, Every Saturdays I'll be updating with two chapters, one of the Selected Assassin and the other with Hannah. I have 10/15 submissions and I really am looking for diversity and more guys in here. Like seriously there's three guys out of the 10, I have. Smh Women are badasses for sure but let's throw so guys in here to make it interesting. See yall next week!**


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